Pass the protein Broseph!

Coming off our nutrition challenges and talking with some of you about hitting macro nutrients to help with your training, I wanted to talk a little on how the body breaks down protein in an easy to understand way.   


As stated in my "belly fat" email, Fats and Carbs are the energy source to power our body.  Proteins are the building blocks to repair damaged muscles from getting shredded in our wods.


"I heard that I am suppose to eat one gram of protein per pound and the body can only absorb 20-30 grams of protein at a time, coach?!"


Once the stomach breaks down protein, it is broken down into Amino Acids... sound familiar?? We sell them! Hint hint. Get yours today for a low low price!! Haha These amino acids are the building blocks for the body. The small intestines then absorb these Aminos into the bloodstream for muscle growth and repair. We can even store some of the extra Aminos in our muscles for later use.  


The small intestines can only absorb so much while gut is doing its thing, which is where folks start talking about limited protein absorption.


But...Different foods absorb at different rates in the body.  You have all seen the whey proteins, plant based proteins, Casein, and isolates being sold.  And of course you have all the variety of tasty foods out there with protein! 


Whey Protein and Isolates get used the fastest where as casein and solid foods get used slower. "But how, coach?"


The presence of protein in the stomach stimulates the production of a hormone that delays “gastric emptying” (the emptying of the food from the stomach).  This slows down intestinal contractions and thus how quickly the food moves through the small intestine, where nutrients are absorbed.


Basically our body buys us time to break down as much of of the protein we consume! The Body is pretty much a Bad A**!


So how much do we need?? A good general rule of thumb is to consume one gram per KILOGRMAM of body weight for the average Jane or Joe. 


B U T!


We workout 4-6 times a week! We need more!
Our muscles are bigger and better! So we need more!
Some of us aren't so young anymore.... The older we get, the more protein we need to maintain our muscle! So we need more!


Now I want to give you an example of three things here and how timing of getting your protein isn’t that important as long as you are getting your daily needs to repair the body.


I eat multiple times a day.  Each meal consisting of a good variety of protein, fats and carbs.  I workout around 9am or during the afternoon classes, but because I have eaten a good hour before, I don’t necessarily need to gulp down my protein shake right away because I have already been processing my food and have some Aminos ready for action!


Sometimes though…I wake up, have a coffee or green tea and try to hit a workout.  That is when I would need some tasty BCAA’s or fast digesting protein (which we also sell…cough cough) to help me out, post workout.


My younger brother has been on a vegan diet for over a year and is also fasting every day. Now... he goes to the absolute extreme and fasts for 23 hours and only eats as much as he can in a full hour.  Literally has a table full of high quality, nothing processed, and almost 0 sugar (unless its from fruit or organic jams) and does not stop eating for 60 minutes!! Its pretty crazy to watch him! His body however has become accustomed to using the 23 hours to digest and get as much of the nutrients he can get.  Alex does weightlifting, boxing, Yoga and sometimes you will see him in the gym working out with us. His body has adapted to use everything he puts in his body to work for him! 


I get most of my protein from meats, eggs and shakes.  He gets his from beans, lentils, quinoa, rice, tofu….pretty much everything else! Mine are tastier though…Haha.


Get your daily dose!


-Jessie Macias
​